I’ve Never Been To Brooklyn And I’d Like to See What’s Good.
Actually, I have. And I love Brooklyn.
Chris and I did some more shopping Friday morning. We both got a pair of Sperry Topsiders at a store called Shoegasm. It was great. No tax. After a couple hours, I had to meet Anna and Jeff in the East Village to see more parts of Brooklyn. We were at Washington Square and Chris told me to take to the B or D train to Delancey Street. Shan’t. Fortunately, I had the foresight not to trust a policy planner with directions and I checked the map in the station. I actually took the F train to 2nd Ave, where there was an exit to 1st Ave. Pretty sure he deliberately tried to sabotage me. Jerk.
While Chris and Matt did something lame and touristy, Anna, Jeff and I wandered through parts of Brooklyn I’d never seen: DUMBO and Brooklyn Heights. DUMBO stands for Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass. It’s located beneath the Manhattan Bridge AND the Brooklyn Bridge [and associated subways]. So it’s fairly noisy, but still completely gentrified and appeared pretty expensive. It seemed a tad sterile – like my old hood in London, Canary Wharf. We chilled in a park on the river for a while.
Then we wandered over to Brooklyn Heights. We’re pretty sure that’s where the Cosby’s were supposed to live. There were old brownstones and streets with mature tree canopies. It was SO quiet and peaceful, despite being really close to a freeway. An old woman wearing more bling than Tiffany’s sells, told us we had to go see this statue:
I guess we looked liked tourists. Stupid running shoes.
We had a cheap dinner followed by cheap beer in the East Village. I liked the East Village. It’s very Annex-y, but denser. And I got checked out there. What, what!
Back at the condo, the five of us got dressed for the Tribeca Film Festival party. We looked HOT. So we took a whole lot of photos of ourselves. Eventually, we strutted through the lobby as the doorman grabbed the door and we headed south.
The downside is that due to our photo shoot, we lost track of time. We arrived at the Juliet Supper Club later than anticipated and as soon as we pushed our way to the bar, the bartender removed the ‘open bar’ sign. Curses! My cheap ass friends made me order a drink. I got a vodka soda. It was $14. I socialized a bit with Erin and her friends, but it was inevitable – we had to find somewhere else to go. We needed a venue with cheaper drinks. Erin’s roommate Alena [who I met last summer in Brooklyn] suggested Marie’s Crisis [she had also suggested it when I was in town last summer]. During my extensive pre-trip research, I had come across this bar and wanted to check it out. And it wasn’t too far away.
As we descended the stairs into the basement bar that is Marie’s Crisis, it was clear that this bar was TINY. It was also packed full of people standing around a man playing the piano. He was playing show tunes – no sheet music, no lyrics, he had it all memorized. And everyone just sang along. It was HILARIOUS. He played some Oklahoma, Mary Poppins and RENT!!!!! Anna LOVED it. She knew ALL the words to ALL the songs. I knew Rent. Ha!
Erin later told me that the bar serves poison. It makes sense because I only had four drinks and I was CRUNK. But Americans don’t precisely measure one-ounce drinks like we do. They just pour. God bless America.
Chris and I did some more shopping Friday morning. We both got a pair of Sperry Topsiders at a store called Shoegasm. It was great. No tax. After a couple hours, I had to meet Anna and Jeff in the East Village to see more parts of Brooklyn. We were at Washington Square and Chris told me to take to the B or D train to Delancey Street. Shan’t. Fortunately, I had the foresight not to trust a policy planner with directions and I checked the map in the station. I actually took the F train to 2nd Ave, where there was an exit to 1st Ave. Pretty sure he deliberately tried to sabotage me. Jerk.
While Chris and Matt did something lame and touristy, Anna, Jeff and I wandered through parts of Brooklyn I’d never seen: DUMBO and Brooklyn Heights. DUMBO stands for Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass. It’s located beneath the Manhattan Bridge AND the Brooklyn Bridge [and associated subways]. So it’s fairly noisy, but still completely gentrified and appeared pretty expensive. It seemed a tad sterile – like my old hood in London, Canary Wharf. We chilled in a park on the river for a while.
Then we wandered over to Brooklyn Heights. We’re pretty sure that’s where the Cosby’s were supposed to live. There were old brownstones and streets with mature tree canopies. It was SO quiet and peaceful, despite being really close to a freeway. An old woman wearing more bling than Tiffany’s sells, told us we had to go see this statue:
I guess we looked liked tourists. Stupid running shoes.
We had a cheap dinner followed by cheap beer in the East Village. I liked the East Village. It’s very Annex-y, but denser. And I got checked out there. What, what!
Back at the condo, the five of us got dressed for the Tribeca Film Festival party. We looked HOT. So we took a whole lot of photos of ourselves. Eventually, we strutted through the lobby as the doorman grabbed the door and we headed south.
The downside is that due to our photo shoot, we lost track of time. We arrived at the Juliet Supper Club later than anticipated and as soon as we pushed our way to the bar, the bartender removed the ‘open bar’ sign. Curses! My cheap ass friends made me order a drink. I got a vodka soda. It was $14. I socialized a bit with Erin and her friends, but it was inevitable – we had to find somewhere else to go. We needed a venue with cheaper drinks. Erin’s roommate Alena [who I met last summer in Brooklyn] suggested Marie’s Crisis [she had also suggested it when I was in town last summer]. During my extensive pre-trip research, I had come across this bar and wanted to check it out. And it wasn’t too far away.
As we descended the stairs into the basement bar that is Marie’s Crisis, it was clear that this bar was TINY. It was also packed full of people standing around a man playing the piano. He was playing show tunes – no sheet music, no lyrics, he had it all memorized. And everyone just sang along. It was HILARIOUS. He played some Oklahoma, Mary Poppins and RENT!!!!! Anna LOVED it. She knew ALL the words to ALL the songs. I knew Rent. Ha!
Erin later told me that the bar serves poison. It makes sense because I only had four drinks and I was CRUNK. But Americans don’t precisely measure one-ounce drinks like we do. They just pour. God bless America.
posted by Douglas J. Stiles, BA Hons, MES! at 6/05/2010 10:11:00 p.m.
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